Wednesday concludes the joint training camp sessions between the Miami Dolphins and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Next, they will face off against each other in real game action, culminating the experience. As usual, there were ups and downs all across the board, but there were some higher highs and lower lows that stood out above the rest. Now the time has come to, for the final time this season, break down the top three performers in training camp.

Kalen Ballage, RB

Yes, he was on Tuesday’s top three list as well, but it cannot be denied just how strong Kalen Ballage has come on as of late. Tuesday’s practice saw Kenyan Drake walk off the field with a trainer and never return. Wednesday, he arrived wearing a walking boot, leaving the starting spot wide open for Ballage.

There's Kenyan Drake with his boot. Hopefully it's not as bad as it looks. pic.twitter.com/Tly2r9pL4x

— Luis D. Sung (@LuisDSung) August 14, 2019

And you better believe Ballage is taking full advantage of it, despite Drake’s injury not being viewed as serious. Tuesday, Ballage scored two touchdowns, and on Wednesday he scored three. The speed he displays when running down the sideline is staggering, and is frankly uncharacteristic of a player his size. This is exactly what Miami saw when they drafted him last season in the fourth round.

🚀🚀 Kalen Ballage turning on the afterburners in Tampa #FinsUp pic.twitter.com/BbAwBJQyTF

— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) August 14, 2019

Everyone knows about his speed, but it’s his hidden power potential that, up to this point, was hidden away. Since getting this opportunity, Ballage has become aggressive with his running, and is even willing to make some hits. At last, he’s using the power his frame naturally give him. If he keeps that up, he could snatch the majority of snaps away from Drake when he eventually returns to the field.

Jaryd Jones-Smith, OT

Interesting choice for a second top three performer? Perhaps. But after leapfrogging veteran Jordan Mills as the second-team left tackle on Wednesday, his contribution cannot be overlooked. As soon as Jones-Smith entered the lineup, the left side of the offensive line found some stability that wasn’t there before. That’s telling, especially given how the OL has been in shambles for weeks now.

Obviously Pat Flaherty is no longer with Miami but it’s worth noting Jaryd Jones-Smith got the call-up in practice today against the Buccaneers to play 1st string LT, with Tunsil not participating this week. Big day for him. Did well. https://t.co/L8V6LssWWq

— Chris Kouffman (@ckparrot) August 14, 2019

Granted, Jones-Smith was not perfect, giving up a whistled sack. But overall, his play was solid enough to warrant giving him this distinction. It’s been a rough road for the former Pitt standout, losing his dad to brain tumors and nearly losing his leg back in his college days. He and his record-breaking wingspan overcame those challenges however, and now he’s here to prove he has something to offer.

Cornell Armstrong, CB

Armstrong is the top gunner on special teams with Walt Aikens out with a knee injury. But that isn’t why he’s making the list for Wednesday’s training camp. The second-year player out of Southern Miss didn’t get much coverage coming out of college, but Chris Grier and the scouting department saw something there no one else did. Armstrong is steadily improving as a cornerback, reading routes and making plays as a part of Miami’s backup unit.

Even Wednesday, Armstrong made an impressive play. He read the eyes of the QB and managed to deflect a pass in the endzone with a dive, laying out to prevent the catch. Dedication like that is always worth noting. Armstrong may not be getting a lot of looks, but he’s doing the best he can with what he is getting. With the Dolphins looking for someone to start next to Xavien Howard, he should get a chance to try.

Youth sports today is not the youth sports of yesteryear.

Sadly, it might be due to the fact that professional sports and their prevailing attitudes about mentality, training, and expectations have taken root across all youth sports domains.

Just last week in the Wall Street Journal, Ben Cohen’s column described how this weekend in Orlando the Jr. NBA Global Championship will transpire – an event featuring the best 13- and 14-year old’s from around the world. Besides spending hours on the hardwood, these kids spent as much if not more hours replaying James Harden and Stephen Curry’s Instagram feeds so they can work on perfecting their 3 pointers, imitating Harden’s nearly impossible step-back 3 pointer along with Curry’s signature shot with his arm beautifully arched above his head.  Understandably, most coaches discourage the shot while others feed these youngsters’ heads with the promise of one day attaining superstar status too.

Sadly, unencumbered free play seems passé. Unstructured play has given way to intensely controlled organized sports leagues, travel team, to home schooling so children can spend hours honing their physical talents.  Yet, the worst part is how the adults are shaping youth sports in ways that go against the best interests of children.

In our book Raising Your Game, Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz concluded that youth sports “has changed for the worse. It’s too specialized, overuse, over abuse, you name, it. And, the one thing that’s saddening is that we’re creating little factories, little prodigies, and we’re not allowing kids to be kids.”

Childhood was supposed to be the time when you had the freedom, fun and opportunity to enjoy sports for the pleasure and competition provided without pressure of focusing on a future career. As we all know the path to superstar status is littered with many bodies broken by overuse and debilitating injuries, burnout, change of heart and focus, as well as personality problems or poor personal choices.

Again, our book Raising Your Game (buy it here) drove home the point that having fun, developing intrinsic motivation, and trying one’s best are the most promising precursors for later success. If only these attributes were the highlight reels for promoting youth sports.

The last time the Miami Dolphins held a joint training camp practice, it was 2017 and Adam Gase was entering his second year as head coach. Miami had built a fairly strong relationship with the Philadelphia Eagles, and they decided they would hold a practice together. The time before that, Joe Philbin was in charge. The Dolphins traveled to North Carolina to practice with Ron Rivera and the Panthers. That joint practice time was far less productive, and ended in season-ending injuries.

Fortunately, no such downsides occurred as Brian Flores and Bruce Arians came together for a joint practice on Tuesday morning. Both teams clearly benefited from going against other opponents, leading to greater evaluation opportunities. While plenty happened, and all amidst Jadeveon Clowney trade rumors, there are still some players who stood out more than others based on my observations. Here are my top three from the first joint practice.

Kalen Ballage, RB

While running back Kenyan Drake limped off the field on Tuesday, Kalen Ballage flourished taking his snaps. The offensive line didn’t make many holes for him to run through, but when they did, he ran through them like a bat out of hell. Ballage rushed down the sideline for a 70-yard touchdown scamper (yes, they were tackling), then caught a quick pass from Rosen and sped past defenders for a touchdown reception.

Granted, Ballage dropped a few passes. For someone whose claim to fame is catching passes out of the backfield, Ballage is having trouble with that so far in 2019’s training camp. Nevertheless, two big plays like the ones he had Tuesday are impossible to ignore. If the offensive line can’t make holes for him to run through, then it’s good he at least hits home runs when they do.

Preston Williams, WR

This shouldn’t come as a surprise anymore. Preston Williams is clearly turning out to be one of Miami’s best wide receivers. Tuesday, Williams caught several tough passes and roasted a few defensive backs during one-on-one drills. Poor De’Vante Harris had no idea what hit him.

👀 @Thresort 👀#FinsUp pic.twitter.com/ozkoaIXNiZ

— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) August 13, 2019

All of these amazing plays, and really the question to ask is this: why did Preston Williams go undrafted? That’s a question better answered by Five Reasons’ own Chris Kouffman, but the fact remains that Williams continues to be an incredible diamond in the rough for the Dolphins. Of course, now everyone knows about him. It will be interesting to see what he does as his level of competition continues to rise.

Xavien Howard, CB

While Howard had his moments of struggle against WRs Chris Godwin and Mike Evans, he quickly came back to form, intercepting two passes from Jameis Winston on Tuesday. The second one, he even threw in a little insult to the injury, running it in for a touchdown and pointing to the offense on his way. Disrespectful? Perhaps. But that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable for the winning side. It’s training camp, let them play.

Many Buccaneers fans were quick to dismiss Howard after he lost matchups against Evans and Godwin. But the moment Jameis Winston started testing him, that’s when things went sour for Tampa Bay. There is no cornerback in the history of the NFL that is flawless, even Deion Sanders made mistakes in his career. But going after a corner of Howard’s caliber will never fail to leave QBs with regret. His development has been remarkable, and the Dolphins were wise to extend him when they did.